French court convicts ex-Ubisoft bosses for workplace harassment

A French court sentenced three former Ubisoft executives on Wednesday to suspended prison terms for enabling a culture of sexual and psychological harassment at the gaming giant.

Thomas Francois, a former editorial vice president who was also convicted on a charge of attempted sexual assault, received the heaviest sentence of a suspended three-year term.

Among the three defendants, he faced the most damning allegations, including forcing an employee to do a headstand while in a skirt.

During the trial, the court heard that Francois would greet employees using inappropriate names, attempt to touch people's genitals as part of a so-called "game", and try to kiss male employees by surprise.

Francois testified during the trial that he "lacked perspective" during the incidents from 2012 to 2020, when he was aged 38 and 46, saying he believed at the time that he was "treating people with respect".

For his part, former chief creative officer Serge Hascoet was given an 18-month suspended sentence for psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment.

Hascoet told the court he was unaware of the harassment happening outside of his glass office.

But he also instructed his female assistants to perform personal tasks for him not linked to their qualifications, such as picking up his daughter from school or crossing Paris to buy him peanuts, justifying the behaviour as something typically "seen in movies".

A third executive, former games director Guillaume Patrux, received a 12-month suspended sentence for harassment on a "smaller scale".

The court ordered Francois to pay a 30,000 euro ($35,340) fine, while Hascoet was fined 45,000 euros and Patrux 10,000 euros.

During the trial, the defence lawyers insisted that their clients had never received any disciplinary warnings from human resources.

Ubisoft started investigations after the media reported the claims, leading to wider criticism of the gaming industry in France.

Hascoet and Francois left the company in 2020, along with Patrux, following internal investigations.

Source: AFP